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Wimbledon round-up: Novak Djokovic beats Stan Wawrinka – and curfew – at Wimbledon

Updated / Friday, 7 Jul 2023 23:38
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic beat Stan Wawrinka and the Wimbledon curfew to book his place in the fourth round.

The match did not begin until 8.40pm, an hour later than Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas got under way on Thursday, but Djokovic finished a 6-3 6-1 7-6 (7-5) victory with 14 minutes to spare.

It certainly did Wawrinka no favours that Djokovic was against the clock as he clicked straight into top gear and pushed the pace at every opportunity.

It was a 31st consecutive victory for Djokovic at the All England Club, equalling Pete Sampras' best, and the seven-time champion said: "He was two points away from extending this match to another day. Coming to the court we knew it was going to be really tight.

"I know I can always play better, I always have a couple of gears that I can go higher. Hopefully as the tournament progresses I can play better and better."

This was a 27th meeting between the pair and, although Djokovic led 20-6, at grand slams they were tied at 4-4, with two of Wawrinka’s three titles coming after victories over the Serbian in finals.

Both were some years ago now, though, and it has been a long road back to the top 100 for 38-year-old Wawrinka after knee and foot surgeries.

Wimbledon has been by some distance his weakest slam and he cheerfully wrote off his chances completely ahead of a first grass-court meeting with Djokovic.

That proved to be realistic rather than pessimistic as Djokovic pounded precision groundstrokes into the corners, time and again drawing errors from his opponent after thumping exchanges.

Wawrinka’s statistics did not make pretty reading but it would be harsh to criticise the veteran too much, aside from a very low first-serve percentage, given the barrage of quality coming from the other end.

He served much better in the third set and fought exceptionally hard to force a tie-break.

Djokovic had won his last 11 tie-breaks at grand slams, famously not making an unforced error in six at the French Open. That record was in danger here when Wawrinka went 5-3 up but he was unable to send the contest to a second day as Djokovic booked a date with Hubert Hurkacz.

Carlos Alcaraz had to work hard on his second Centre Court appearance at to earn a straight-sets victory over Alexandre Muller.

Alcaraz was given a stern examination by France's Muller during a contest that lasted two hours and 33 minutes, but ultimately progressed 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.

It made it seven consecutive wins on grass for the top seed, who is viewed by many as the most likely candidate to stop defending champion Novak Djokovic in his pursuit of a record-equalling eighth title at the All England Club.

Nerves appeared to be present for the world number one on only his second appearance on Wimbledon’s main stage having lost there to Jannik Sinner last summer.

Despite a classy forehand winner on the run from the second point of the contest, Alcaraz struggled early on and had to save three break points during his second service game.

First seed Alcaraz sprayed 10 unforced errors in the opening half an hour, but a 135mph ace seemed to ease his tension and he clinched a break in the next game as he edged a tight opener.

Muller, ranked 84 in the world, continued to take the match to Alcaraz, who saw four break points come and go at the start of the second set.

Alcaraz eventually had to go to a tie-break and he reserved his best tennis for the crunch moment. A volley at the net got him off the mark and he followed up with a succession of drops shots that helped him claim the second set.

It had been a hard-fought set for Alcaraz but after nearly two hours on court with the roof open and temperatures hitting 29C, the US Open champion showed his extraordinary athleticism during the opening exchanges of set three.

More break point opportunities were squandered by the 20-year-old, but he eventually did break for only the second time in the match at 4-3 up in the third.

Alcaraz brought up match point with a 116mph ace and, although Muller briefly stole the show with a stunning backhand return, another big forehand winner from Alcaraz confirmed his 42nd win of the season.

During his on-court interview, Alcaraz said: "I am really, really happy. My second match on Centre, my first one I lost last year.

"Really happy to play here again and this time with a win. It is a beautiful court. I wanted to enjoy every single second and I think I did."

Daniil Medvedev advanced to the third round with a 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-5) win over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino after their match was suspended due to bad light on Thursday.

Third seed Medvedev was on the brink of victory before Mannarino staged a late fightback to level the third set at 4-4 and take the match into a second day.

The world number 35 continued to keep pace with the Russian, who has never advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Club.

Medvedev clinched the tiebreak when the left-handed Mannarino sent a forehand long.

Medvedev, who has not dropped a set at the tournament, said he may have a new lucky ritual to go through if he has to play a match over two days again.

"I remember a couple of years ago I had this against (Hubert) Hurkacz and I lost and I kind of prepared in a way for a new match. I did an ice bath, I finished the match as if it was a normal match and the next day I had to play again," he said in an on-court interview.

"And this didn't work out for me, so I changed it. I didn't do anything as if the match was finished, I didn't wash my hair, I was like 'I'll wash it after the match' and it worked so I'm going to continue like this if next time I have a two-day match.

"I did take a shower," he added.

Last year's quarter-finalist Jannik Sinner recovered from a slow start to outclass unseeded Frenchman Quentin Halys 3-6 6-2 6-3 6-4.

Sinner became only the third Italian man to make the last 16 at Wimbledon on multiple occasions after Nicola Pietrangeli and Matteo Berrettini, but the 21-year-old was tested by Halys who landed the first blow and went 2-0 up in the second set.

Halys, who entered the championships without playing a warm-up tournament on grass, pounced on the eighth seed in the first set and surged into a 4-1 lead before taking the early advantage on the back of solid serving.

Sinner responded almost immediately, however, with a break in the second set and forced world number 79 Halys, who sported heavy strapping on his thigh and calf, to work hard during points with deft shots at the net.

The slender Italian, who has reached the quarter-finals of all the four grand slams, comfortably drew level at a set apiece and barely put a foot wrong to cruise through the next in 29 minutes.

The duo traded breaks early in the fourth set before Sinner regained focus to seal victory.

Danish sixth seed Holger Rune dazzled a packed crowd on Court Three as he beat Spain's Roberto Carlos Baena to reach the third round of Wimbledon.

The charismatic 20-year-old produced his full repertoire of silky shot-making to win 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.

Rune became only the fourth Dane to reach the men's third round at Wimbledon and the first for nearly 20 years.

"He made it very difficult and didn't give me anything for free, but I think I managed to raise my level and close to the end I got unbelievable support from the crowd," Rune, who twice had to recover service breaks in the opening set, said on court.

"I love getting the fans involved, it was unbelievable, really cool and I hope we can bring it all the way."

Rune's game style and casual demeanour have made him a hit with young fans who chanted "Ruuuuune" at regular intervals, and he responded with some exquisite winners and won many points with cunningly disguised drop shots.

Cameron Norrie suffered a second-round knockout to Chris Eubanks.

The British number one was left dazed by American Eubanks' powerful hitting and his haymaker of a serve in a punishing 6-3 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-3) defeat.

In a heavyweight start to the contest, the first 20 points all went with serve including nine aces, seven from the arm of Eubanks.

And it was the world number 43 who landed the first blow, breaking Norrie to love on his way to taking the opening set.

Norrie, the 12th seed and a semi-finalist last year, had barely laid a glove on his opponent, winning just three points on the Eubanks serve.

But the South-African-born southpaw hauled himself off the canvas and secured an early break in the second set to level the match.

However, Norrie has looked ring-rusty in recent months and Eubanks, a grasscourt title-winner in Mallorca, took advantage by breaking twice for the third set.

Eubanks dropped his guard in the fourth, losing his serve to love, but he hit back for 4-4 to leave Norrie on the ropes.

Norrie survived a match point on serve when a Eubanks forehand thudded into the net.

But Eubanks was too strong in the tie-break, a quick one-two of a booming forehand and delicate volley leaving Norrie out for the count.

Andy Murray suffered more Wimbledon heartache with a five-set defeat by Stefanos Tsitsipas in their delayed second-round clash.

The Scot was two sets to one up overnight when the 11pm curfew came into play but he was unable to complete the job, with fifth seed Tsitsipas fighting back to win 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (2-7) 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.

It was a hugely disappointing way for Murray to mark the 10th anniversary of his career-defining first Wimbledon title, and he is all too aware that his chances for another deep run here are ebbing away.

The match began under the roof on Thursday but there were blue skies above on the hottest day of the tournament so far when the players returned to Centre Court.

Murray had sparked alarm right at the end of the set by screaming in pain and going down clutching his left groin but he practised as normal ahead of the match and there was no sign of any discomfort.

The breezy conditions perhaps contributed to more errors from both than was the case in the first part of the match, while nerves were sure to play their part with the contest already so close to its conclusion.

Tsitsipas' backhand leaked a substantial number of errors but his serve was working beautifully and Murray was unable to force a break point, the 36-year-old smacking the net in frustration as another close game got away.

He had clearly been eager to avoid the lottery of another tie-break and, in a repeat of the first-set shootout, it was Tsitsipas who won the final four points.

Murray's strategy to relentlessly probe the Greek’s backhand was perhaps becoming a little predictable, and he was in serious trouble when Tsitsipas created three break points in the third game of the deciding set, taking the third to break serve for the first time.

Willed on by the crowd, Murray tried to find a way back but Tsitsipas continued to serve very strongly.

Still there was hope as the home favourite saved two match points but he clinched it on his third chance with his 17th ace to book a third-round clash with Laslo Djere.

Tsitsipas said afterwards: "It's never easy against Andy. It was a very difficult game, I’m very impressed the way he holds up having been so many years on the tour, having had two hip surgeries. I was very impressed with his level and I wish him the best.

"It was nerve-racking. I had to overcome it. It’s difficult when you’ve grown up watching him play on this court. I looked up to him, I looked up to him, Novak, Roger and Rafa. These four guys shaped the game and they’re the reason I’m the player I am today.

"I had to work extra hard today to get that victory. My legs are sore right now. He made me run left and right, up and down."

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